 EXAMINATIONS

3.01. General

In any consideration of malpractices at examinations. the form of the examination and the method of conducting it are important. When examinations are scientifically designed and organised, malpractices decrease in a significant measure. Therefore, the general problem of examinations and their distinguishing features are discussed in this chapter.

Examinations can be. broadly classified as (a) written examinations, and (b) practical/oral examinations. Written examinations are restricted in scope to test the scholastic characteristics of an individual. Practical/oral examinations attempt, largely through observational techniques, to test special skills, ability to speak or capacity to make the combined use of the mind and the hand. For several subjects, practical examinations are extremely important. Thus, skills in handling apparatus and equipment, skills in diagnosing a patient, ability to speak fluently in a language, ability to sing or play a musical instrument, etc., can only be tested properly through a practical examination. The current view is that a short-duration test is not adequate to test such skills. Further, when large numbers are involved, it is impossible to streamline the operation of such short-duration tests. Consequently, the scope for malpractices becomes large. In many countries of the world, the teachers concerned are asked to make a continuous assessment of the students by watching their work and conducting such tests as they deem fit. On the basis of such continued observation and testing, the teachers concerned are asked to assess their students. The results of such assessment are utilised for the over- all evaluation.

Where necessary, the internal assessment of the teachers is subjected to external moderation. Even this process is not regarded as foolproof. Currently, particularly in science subjects, project work is encouraged and this is considered to be a good substitute for practical examinations.

Written examinations can be classified as internal and external. In the internal system, the teachers concerned assess their students. In the external system, an examining body like a board or a university arranges for the conduct of the examination. There is, besides, a third system. In this system, internal assessments following standardised procedures are subjected to external moderation. It is believed that this system has all the advantages of both the external and the internal systems of examination.

In what follows, the objectives of written examinations and other problems related to them are first discussed. An attempt is made to discuss problems facing our country. Thereafter, some novel ideas are mentioned.

3.02. Achievement Test

A written examination can be restricted in scope to constitute an achievement test. In such a case, an attempt is made to find out whether what has been taught has been assimilated by the student for the purpose for which it was meant. Thus, consider a radio service man. He is taught about a radio receiver, its faults, how to locate such faults and then how to proceed to rectify the same. If he has learnt all these properly and if he can apply his knowledge to service a receiver, he has achieved the objectives of the instruction imparted to him. An achievement test of this type can be designed and conducted without difficulty.

If the framers of a curriculum set out clearly its objectives, a proper examination can be conducted to find out whether the objectives have been realised. This implies that the framers of the curriculum should define the manner in which an examination should be conducted. Often, this is not done. In the field of school education, current

thinking has gone a little further. The development of a curriculum is expected to be accompanied by a proper description of the procedures for instruction including the use of aids and the procedures for the conduct of an examination. Curriculum is expected to be developed in relation to the future of the student. This lays considerable stress on the application of knowledge and the capacity to think. When this educational problem is taken into account, the design of the question papers gets altered. Further, in order to make an examination unambiguous, questions are carefully prepared paying special attention to the wording of each question and the language.

If achievement tests are conducted on the lines indicated, there is very little scope for cramming and the relevance of the curriculum will have created zest in the students. Consequently, the attempts to indulge in malpractices get reduced.

3.03. Prediction Test

In several cases, written examinations are conducted to predict whether a student is suitable for a particular course of study, a vocation or a specific type of service. In such cases, the examination becomes a prediction test. Suppose it is necessary to find out whether a student is suitable for a course of study in a particular branch of science and that particular branch has already been studied by the student; then it becomes possible to formulate a test to predict the suitability of the student for the particular course. The problem becomes more difficult in other cases. Thus, suppose a student has studied science and he has to be considered for a course in engineering or medicine, using his attainment in science alone is not adequate for predicting his suitability for engineering or medicine. Hence, several auxiliary tests will have to be devised to supplement tests in science only.

The above description makes it clear that a prediction test can be conducted only for a specific purpose. There-

fore, different prediction tests are required to be conducted for different purposes.

3.04. Endurance Test

For certain types of vocations, the suitability of a student can only be determined by testing his capacity to stand intellectual stresses and strains for extended periods of time. In such a case, the test becomes an endurance test. Ordinarily, endurance tests are carried out by making candidates choose a variety of subjects and answer a large number of question papers at one sitting. Thus, can- didates may be, required to answer one or two question papers each day for several days. The number of papers and the period over which such papers have to be answered are regulated by the type of endurance that has to be tested.

3.05. Ranking

Sometimes, candidates who have gone through different courses of study for the same subject or group of subjects, have to be ranked in order of merit for certain purposes. The ranking has to be done on the basis of their ability in the subject. Ability here implies competence to study in depth and apply the knowledge acquired in the Subject or group of subjects.

One procedure for this type of testing or examination in which ranking is justifiable is as follows: Papersetters, after taking into account the different courses of study provided for different groups of students in the same subject, design and set a number of question papers. At least three question papers of this type would be necessary. The objective of each paper would be to test the capacity of the candidate to understand the subject and to apply the knowledge he has. The answer scripts for each of the papers are examined by at least two examiners. The 'raw' marks assigned by such examiners to all the papers are statistically processed and each examinee is assigned a

standardised mark. The rank ordering is done on the basis of candidates' standardised marks. As regards the use of such a test for ranking, the procedure described is reasonably adequate. But, it is not 100% infallible. In this connection, it is also necessary to mention that the potential of a candidate may itself change.

3.06. Numbers

In the past, numbers were comparatively small for even Public Examinations. Hence, it was possible to design and administer tests reasonably satisfactorily for specific purposes. Difficulties increase in proportion to the increase in numbers. In fact, a major problem facing the world is the one for conducting examinations for large numbers and declaring the results within a very short time thereafter.

There is no escape from this increase of numbers, in the context of free and compulsory education in the elementary stage and the rapid expansion of educational opportunities at all higher stages. Any system of examination in today's context should, therefore, be geared to cope with the ever-increasing numbers of examinees and the conse- quential stresses and strains.

In this age of technology, students trained during the next few decades will be living their useful span of life in the twenty-first century when the impact of technology on life will undoubtedly be much more than today. In that situation, employment opportunities can exist only for those who have been trained in the more and more sophisticated fields of technology. Consequently, the field of em- ployment for the uneducated and the semi-educated will go on shrinking. This also indicates that one has to think in terms of an ever-increasing input into the educational system at all levels.

3.07. Question Papers

The type of questions asked and answered at an

examination has a profound impact on the results, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Setting a question paper is now almost a science, There are several types of questions, such as the objective type, the essay type, the problem type, each of which has its own merits and demerits. In the case of the objective type, it is possible to have a large number of questions in a question paper to be answered within a set time. Such a large number of short items ensure a wide coverage of the syllabus. In fact, candidates can be examined on a sampling of the whole syllabus. Hence, objective type questions are expected to produce a more comprehensive measure of assessment. Further, because each objective type of question has a correct answer, the grading can be uniform. Against these advantages, it is contended that such questions may err by putting too much emphasis on verbal facility and comprehension, and that they promote superficiality of reasoning. They are not considered adequate for testing the capacity for sustained analysis and creative thought. It is also argued that in answering objective-type questions, candidates can obtain substantial scores by guessing without making any attempt to reason out the right answers. The scope of objective type of questions is not confined to memory for facts, well constructed intelligent questions can bring in the understanding and application of principles. The defects complained of are thus, by and large, remediable. Further, where large numbers are involved, apart from uniformity of grading, this type of question makes for more rapid marking and can even be done without skilled examiners. The setting of such question papers, however, requires the services of technically competent experts and subject specialists and requires much more time than for a traditional-type paper. The cost, too, is much greater. But, in the interests of greater objectivity and reliability, this additional cost has to be borne.

Next, there are the conventional essay-type questions, This has been the common type prevailing in our country. Such questions are believed to bring out adequately the

capacity for analysis and synthesis, and facility of expression and, when properly framed, give broad indications, even of creativity. But in this type, the marking is more subjective, and, therefore, less uniform, and the margins of variation in valuation can be very great. These disadvantages have, of late, weighed against the essay type of questions it, Public Examinations involving large numbers. Inciden- tally, examined on a world basis, we still do not have a proper type of questions for identifying creativity, although problem-oriented questions are being used in attempts to test the creative behaviour of the mind. Such problem-oriented questions can be either of the objective type or the essay type.

Short-answer questions are now being introduced increasingly, as, in this pattern, a large number of such questions can be set, and the answers being more specific, facilitate uniformity in marking.

It has been contended that a close-book examination is bound to lay some stress on memory. In the present-day world, however, memory is no longer a very important factor. Information is easily available and can be easily obtained from reference books. Therefore, an open- book examination system is often recommended. Questions set in an open-book examination must be so framed as to require the marshalling of data and culling out of information from different sources and above all the application of knowledge. This will undoubtedly test a wider spectrum of the intellectual ability of a candidate. It is, however, necessary to mention that setting questions for an open-book examination is a very difficult task and requires considerable expertise, coupled with imagination. It is indeed a test of the paper-setter himself!

The type of questions to be set in a question paper or the variety of questions to be set in a number of question papers for an examination depends, obviously, on the purpose for which such an examination is conducted. If an examination is a multipurpose one and the large variety of objectives which it is meant to serve are indeterminate,

compromise choice of types of questions will have to be made. There could be a blending of objective and essay-type questions. In such a case, the essay-type questions should be characterised not by factual accuracy but by the stress on imagination, ideas, fluency, and a deep understanding of the subject. In addition, it may be desirable to have at least one question paper of the open-book type in view of its distinct advantage. To work out a complete scheme of examination with multipurpose objectives is a complicated task. The number of question papers, the distribution of questions in each of the question papers into different types, the duration of the question papers and the number of such papers that should be answered in continuous sequence become important problems for scientific study leading to the required decisions.

3.08. External Assessment

When examinations are organised and conducted by an agency, other than the institution training students, for all the students of a group of institutions coming under the purview of the agency, the assessment carried out is regarded as an external assessment, To this extent, the Public Examinations in our country as conducted by the different universities for all their affiliated or constituent colleges and the examinations conducted by the appropriate school boards are Public Examinations. In all such Public Examinations, the teachers concerned do not get directly involved in the examinations. Ordinarily, such Public Examinations are not conducted with a specific objective in view. Thus, a Public Examination may be conducted and the results of such an examination utilised for a large number of purposes. Actual testing is restricted to a candidate answering a question paper or a series of question papers, each within a set time- limit.

3.09.Internal Assessment

The teacher concerned has always been regarded as

the best judge of a student. Utilising this principle, internal assessment of students by teachers of the institution concerned has been adopted in some institutions in our country and elsewhere. But, it is necessary to stress here that internal assessments create many problems. If all of them are adequately examined and solutions found, internal assessments could be regarded as satisfactory. In an internal assessment, it is necessary that a variety of tests are administered, proper statistical weights given to each and then an over-all grading arrived at as a true index of the capabilities of a student Further, there can be room for prejudice. There can be occasions when the student is not in the best of spirits. Taking all such factors into account, it may be necessary to resort to an over- all average of a student's performance over a period of time like two or three years. Thus, a higher secondary grading in Hindi may be based on the over-all grading of the performance of the student during his last three years at school. There are also other questions relevant to internal assessments. If a class has four divisions and each division is taught by a different teacher, what is the procedure adopted to realise uniformity in the results of all students in the class? Similarly, from the standpoint of measurement of intellectual capacity, etc., what is the procedure adopted to realise uniformity in the assessment between one subject and another? Such and many other problems exist. Even an internal assessment requires continued research to improve its reliability and validity,

If internal assessments are made for general purposes, it becomes necessary to make the results of one institution comparable with those of others' A way out for realising some uniformity is now being attempted in some countries. In this attempt which is limited to the examination of internal assessments of scholastic characteristics only, techniques are being developed for external moderation. It is felt that internal assessments subjected to external moderation can give results which are as satisfactory or even more satisfactory than those of Public Examinations. However,

other views have also been expressed. It is felt that the results of internal assessment and the results of Public Examinations with question papers having questions of different types should both be utilised for furnishing the results of students. In another type of thinking, it is felt that the results of internal assessment and of Public Examination should both be furnished to the candidates separately in the certificates issued to them. The latter view receives support from the fact that an internal assessment should desirably be not limited to test the scholastic characteristics only. In such a case, the teacher's over-all estimate of a student can definitely be different from the estimate obtained through a Public Examination.

3.10. Our Examinations

In most cases, there are Public Examinations conducted by the universities and State Boards of Examination. In a limited number of cases, a few institutions are conducting what is called internal assessments. Broadly speaking, therefore, Public Examinations are the examinations of vital importance to the country as a whole. In such examinations, as mentioned earlier, the tendency is to set a large number of essay type of questions. The objectives of the examination are rarely defined. The results of such an examination are used as a criterion for far too many purposes. In view of this, both the reliability and the validity of the results of our examinations may get considerably reduced.